Font Size:
He Cheng mentioned that the new courtyard next to Tongren Hall had been renovated by the end of last month. This new place was named the Tongren Hall Medical Lodge and had already admitted eight patients with heart conditions.
Lu Man had previously discussed with Manager Li, He Cheng, and others that people in this era preferred treatment at home rather than in hospitals.
However, Tongren Hall required certain acute heart patients to be hospitalized for observation, particularly to assess their suitability for using digitalis, a “miracle drug”, and to provide immediate emergency care in case of allergic reactions or poisoning.
Wealthy families typically avoided hospitalization, preferring to have physicians or imperial physicians stay at their homes for treatment. But for those who needed the miracle cure yet feared its side effects, hospitalization was the only option.
With the addition of salicylic acid now available, patients suitable for this treatment, along with other medical histories, were best treated in hospitals. Precautions needed to be taken when admitting infectious patients since disinfectants were not available in this era, with only lime water used for disinfection…
Unable to move, Lu Man delegated these matters to He Cheng and Lu Ying. To manage these tasks, He Cheng had taken a half-month leave. They also invited the innkeeper Li and Master Huang to discuss further plans, with Lu Man providing instructions from behind a folding screen.
Thinking of Jiang Zhanwei at the border, Huang Ke Lai was an excellent medicine for external injuries. Despite her dissatisfaction with Jiang Zhanwei, Lu Man still hoped for his safe return. Without hesitation, she prepared twenty Huang Ke Lai pills, one hundred salicylic pills, several packs of salicylic acid, with instructions, and arranged for dried beef jerky, clothes, and shoes to be sent to the border by Liu Xin.
Men on the battlefield were rugged, although salicylic acid had significant side effects, when combined with other medications, it could provide much-needed relief.
During this time, He Cheng celebrated his fourteenth birthday, and He Mingzhu hosted a feast at the Yuling Courtyard, inviting Jiang Zhanwei’s siblings, Jiang Zhanyan, Young Master Xie, and later, the old Marquis also joined.
Unable to leave her room, Lu Man lay on the bed lost in thought when a basket of red eggs arrived from the Min family. It turned out that Lady Min had given birth to a healthy baby boy early that morning, weighing six pounds and four ounces, bringing joy to the entire family.
Upon hearing the news, Lu Man shared in Lady Min’s happiness. She also felt pleased with her ability to accurately predict the baby’s gender through pulse diagnosis.
Later that afternoon, Lady Yang from the Xie residence arrived with the children to visit Lu Man.
Lu Man expressed her gratitude to old Duke Xie and Xie Jiuye for their kindness.
Lady Yang remarked, “My husband even scolded Eighth brother-in-law, pointing out that despite being two years older than He Cheng and aware of those playboy antics, he failed to protect He Cheng from such trouble…”
Lu Man felt embarrassed and replied, “Oh, we can’t blame Young Master Xie for this, it’s those few individuals who are at fault.”
Lady Yang continued, “According to my Eighth brother-in-law, someone deliberately passed this information to those few individuals. It couldn’t have been him or Young Master Huang, it must have been the other two. When questioned, they all denied it.”
Lu Man also suspected someone of malicious intent.
After enduring a month of rest, Lu Man finally regained her mobility and it was the fifth day of July.
After lunch, Lu Man, accompanied by Jiang Jiu, went to the Crane Hall.
After a month of confinement, Lu Man was delighted to be out. It was midsummer, scorching hot, but the surroundings of Donghui Courtyard were covered in dense bamboo groves, providing a refreshing breeze as the leaves rustled in the wind, alleviating the heat.
Observing Lu Man’s slightly larger belly, Jiang Jiu smiled and whispered, “My nephew is growing bigger again, that’s wonderful.” Lowering her voice, she added, “Sister-in-law, I’ll tell you a secret. Since my nephew fell ill, Eighth Brother has secretly shed tears many times, feeling he let down Third Brother’s trust by not taking care of you properly… He forbade me from telling you.”
Thinking about the mature-beyond-his-years Jiang Zhankui, Lu Man couldn’t help but smile. During her month of confinement, Jiang Zhankui always appeared conflicted, as if wanting to scold her but feeling it wasn’t right, showing a mix of emotions.
Arriving at the Crane Hall, several ladies, the eldest Young Madam, siblings, and the children were already present. The eldest great grandson was now five years old and had started attending the morning classes with Jiang Zhanyan in the outer courtyard.
Previously, Princess Changting had personally visited Lu Man at Donghui Courtyard. Due to the hot weather and her delicate health, she had been advised against making another trip.
Despite falling ill just once, the Princess had lost weight and hadn’t fully recovered since then.
Seeing Lu Man’s arrival, Princess Changting waved and beckoned her over, saying, “Good child, come here.”
Lu Man approached and was seated beside her, where the Princess observed her carefully. Upon noticing Lu Man’s increased weight and larger belly, the Princess nodded in approval.
Princess Changting smiled and said, “We’ll have our meal here at Crane Hall today. I knew you were coming, so I had them prepare some nourishing dishes suitable for a pregnant woman.”
The Eldest Madam couldn’t help but feel jealous as she watched the Princess holding Lu Man’s hand tightly, finding it quite obvious. Lu Man was just treating an illness, yet the old lady placed her own blood relatives after her…
Despite any dissatisfaction, she dared not voice it out and instead smiled, praising Lu Man’s increasingly high medical skills.
The Third Madam felt a pang of regret, wishing she had let her son marry Lu Man in the first place. The woman she had once viewed as a perfect future daughter-in-law now paled in comparison to Lu Man in every aspect except for her higher social status.
As they chatted and laughed, a servant arrived with news that the master had sent Young Master Deyu back to Yiluo Pavilion. The child had a fever, complained of a headache and sore throat, likely suffering from a cold.
The eldest Madam and eldest Young Madam were shocked and hurriedly rose to leave. Young Madam Han even turned back in a rush, pleading, “Sister, do you still have that miraculous medicine? Please give some to my son.”
Lu Man replied, “Some time ago, Cheng mixed salicylic acid with other herbs to create salicylic pills. This medicine is highly effective for certain illnesses, but not everyone can take it. I’m not able to go check on him now, let Cheng see him. If it’s indeed a cold, he can give him a small dose.”
If it weren’t for Jiang Zhanju still being decent, Lady Han would have acted differently. Lu Man truly didn’t want to be involved in the affairs of the main household and preferred to let He Cheng handle it.
He Cheng had just finished classes and was about to return to Yuling Courtyard when he was called back. Despite his dislike for the main household due to the Madam’s actions towards Lu Man and the unruly Jiang Zhanxun, he felt obligated to assist because of the Princess’s support and assistance. He didn’t want to delay, so he had Wang Baizhi carry his small medicine box and accompanied him to Yiluo Pavilion.
Young Master Deyu lay on the bed, his face flushed with fever. After examining him, He Cheng confirmed he indeed had caught a cold.
He Cheng administered acupuncture, prescribed several Chinese herbs, and presented five pills, saying, “These are salicylic pills. Since Young Master Deyu is young, give him half a pill each time, three times a day, spaced an hour apart from taking the herbal soup…”
After giving him half a pill and observing no adverse reactions for fifteen minutes, He Cheng took his leave.